The Active Demonstrators programme was established in about 2014 and involves collaboration with the supply chain to develop innovative solutions for significant decommissioning and waste management challenges across the Sellafield site. In this article, members of AtkinsRéalis Environment, Waste and Radiation Services( EWRS) team describe their involvement in two Active Demonstrator projects.
Introduction AtkinsRéalis has been involved in two key Active Demonstrators which have already delivered measurable impact at the Sellafield site – the Decommissioning Waste Services Partnership( DWSP) and the Skip Size Reduction Facility( SSRF). surface contamination. From this inspiration the technologies were adapted to suit Sellafield ' s unique challenges.
Decommissioning Waste Services Partnership( DWSP) A collaborative team from Altrad, Orano, Babcock and AtkinsRéalis created DWSP to tackle complex, oversized waste. A custombuilt Permacon facility houses a remotely operated diamond wire saw, enabling safe and efficient size reduction of Intermediate Level Waste( ILW) and Low Level Waste items.
The Challenge Sellafield ' s interim waste store was rapidly filling with Magnox fuel skips which had been retrieved from their spent fuel pool, as well as other large items. Many could not be routed directly to the Intermediate Level Waste( ILW) store as they failed to meet the store ' s Waste Acceptance Criteria( WAC). Some items had too much space in them, were too large, required additional monitoring, or lacked appropriate disposal pathways. This created a bottleneck in waste processing and storage, threatening progress in decommissioning and hazard reduction.
Origins Both of the Active Demonstrators were inspired by successful practical trials at other UK nuclear sites. DWSP evolved and took inspiration from the deployment of a bespoke diamond wire saw at Bradwell Power Station, used to size-reduce metallic waste. SSRF was based on trials that took place at Hinkley A, where Magnox fuel skips were size reduced using laser cutting followed by milling to reduce and remove
Sealed PERMACON facility which houses diamond wire saw and remotely operated cutting table on rails
3D model of waste item being secured and size reduced using wire saw
Remotely operated cutting table and roller shutter door for waste to enter the facility
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